EPA suggests Bootheel residents have home tested for deadly radioactive gas

Breathing home indoor radon causes nearly 100 times more deaths each year than carbon monoxide poisoning, and though the Missouri Bootheel is in the lower zone for potential radon, the Environmental Protection Agency still encourages everyone to have their home tested.

Radon is an invisible radioactive gas that is emitted by rocks in the soil and can seep into homes undetected through foundation cracks. The gas is able to reach harmful levels if trapped indoors and one in 15 homes have a radon level of four PicoCurles per liter of air or more, which the Environmental Protection Agency considers high.

Radon has its highest potential in the northwest region of the state where the rating is greater than four PicoCurles.

Simple steps can be taken to prevent the radon threat. These steps include buying easy-to-use radon testing kits, contracting the installation of a straight-forward radon venting system, and economically including radon-resistant features during the construction of new homes.

Radon preventive actions have saved an estimated 6,000 lives in the last 20 years, the EPA has a goal of doubling that number to 12,000 lives in the next five years.

As part of an effort called Radon Leaders Saving Lives, the EPA is working with state and local governments, non-profit organizations, and radon professionals across the county to educate consumers about ways to reduce radon in existing and new homes. In order to spread the education, the EPA has joined state, local, and tribal governments, community groups, public health organizations, and industry to designate January as National Radon Action Month.